Effects of Health Status and Health Behaviors on Depression Among Married Female Immigrants in South Korea

Jung A. Kim, Sook Ja Yang, Yeon Kyung Chee, Kyoung Ja Kwon, Jisook An

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Summary Purpose This study examined the effects of health status and health behaviors on depression in married female immigrants in South Korea. Methods Sampling 316 immigrant women from the Philippines, Vietnam, China, and other Asian countries, a cross-sectional research design was used with self-report questionnaires that assessed sociodemographic characteristics, health status, health behaviors, and depression. Results There were significant differences in stillbirth experience, induced abortion, morbidity, perceived health status, meal skipping, and physical activity between depressed and nondepressed immigrant women. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, stillbirth experience, poorer perceived health status, more meal skipping, and less physical activity were associated with greater depressive symptoms. Conclusions Both health status and health behaviors had significant impacts on depression, suggesting that development of nursing interventions and educational programs should be targeted towards improving maternal health, healthy lifestyle, and subjective health perception to promote married female immigrants' psychological well-being.

Original languageEnglish
Article number144
Pages (from-to)125-131
Number of pages7
JournalAsian Nursing Research
Volume9
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2015, Korean Society of Nursing Science.

Keywords

  • depression
  • emigrants and immigrants
  • health behavior
  • health status
  • women

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